6 Best Outdoor Basketball Shoes: Low-Top, Mid-Top, Ankle Support (2024)

You love basketball so much you’ll play it rain or shine, indoors or outdoors. In other words, wherever there’s a hoop, a ball, a cement surface, and an opponent, you’re ready to ball. But playing hoops outdoors takes shoes that are tough enough for unpredictable court surfaces. Naturally, they also need to be durable and supportive enough for concrete, with great traction and lockdown fit. 

In this article, we explore six of the very best outdoor basketball shoes. Each one made with  state-of-the-art production techniques to help take your game to the next level. From one-on-one to three-on-three, if your favorite gym is the great outdoors, you’ve clicked the right link. Here are the six best shoes for outdoor basketball.

Top Picks

Fast break! Here’s what we liked about the six outdoor basketball shoes we reviewed.

A Closer Look: Best Outdoor Basketball Shoes

From zone defense to triangle offense, here’s a closer look at the best outdoor basketball shoes to buy.

The best outdoor basketball shoes need to be durable with great traction. We found all this and more in the Curry Flow 9s from Under Armour. Breathable and lightweight, these shoes also have bi-directional internal fit and a sock-like feel, with a stretchy collar making them easy to put on and take off. 

Most importantly, though, the flexible Pebax plate provides support and stability in all conditions, with a UA Flow outsole for better feel and control on the court. Based on feedback, the soles grip like nothing else, and that’s true on both clean and dirty surfaces. They also provide tons of cushioning without sacrificing lightness, according to reports.

Coming in a close second in our list of the best shoes for outdoor basketball are the All-Pro Kuzma shoes from Puma. With excellent grip provided by the outsole made from high-abrasion sticky rubber, the shoes offer great traction and durability. There’s also multi-zone support throughout the shoe, a Matryx engineered knit upper, and a Profoam+ midsole. 

Crucially, the Pebax drop in the heel is there for better responsiveness, with a propulsion plate in the forefoot. Overall, these shoes are a great choice for playing basketball in any conditions. They’re even better than Nike, some say. We like the classic look, in particular.

As far as the best low-top shoe for outdoor basketball, we like the PG 5 from Nike. Part of what makes the shoes so great for all-weather ballin’ is the multi-directional traction on the outsole, as well as the flexibility and cushioning for smoother transitions on unpredictable surfaces.

Other notable things about the shoes include the fact the full-length Air unit is stitched directly to the upper. That’s while an innovative lacing system keeps the shoes tight around the foot for added stability in all conditions. 

Players who’ve tried the PG 5s call the cushioning  great, adding their feet feel solid in them. There are also some nice colors to choose from.

Some players prefer the extra ankle support provided by a mid-top basketball shoe, regardless of whether or not they play indoors or outdoors. 

To this end, we like the mid-top New Balance TWO WXY, with an outsole designed through data-driven analysis to provide traction where players need it most. They’re also FuelCell foam for better propulsion. Even more support comes from the shoe’s synthetic upper and kinetic stitch construction, with a midsole shank for torsional rigidity. 

One fan of the shoe with wide feet who plays basketball daily calls them the best basketball shoe he’s ever worn. They’re also light and easy to cut in, others add. 

But if you have a high instep, you may find them a bit difficult to slide on.

Ankle support is particularly important if you’re playing through an injury. If that’s what you’re facing, we recommend the Forum mid-top shoes from Adidas. What makes their ankle support particularly effective is the removable criss-cross strap for a better locked-down feel. The uppers are leather, with a rubber outsole and a lace closure.

Worn both on the court and off, fans of these classic sneakers call them comfortable and easy to keep clean, which is an important quality for outdoor basketball shoes. Otherwise, they fit well right out of the box. And if you wore them back in the day, you’ll be impressed with the improved arch support.

With partially-recycled materials in every part of the shoe, the Cosmic Unity Green Glow shoes from Nike are for anyone who values sustainability in everything they do, including their outdoor basketball footwear. 

That’s not all these shoes have to offer, however, with responsiveness from the full-length Zoom Air Strobel, including partially-recycled TPU, and recycled rubber traction, with lace closures. Ballers who like the Green Glows call them low to the ground with great cushioning on account of the air pad. Some use the extra lace hoops for better lockdown fit.

One player called them the most comfortable, padded, and supportive basketball shoes they’ve ever had.

Our Process

For this guide on outdoor basketball shoes, our team spent 5 hours researching the 35 most popular options from a variety of brands and manufacturers big and small. We then read about 5 user reviews per product(both positive and negative) to discover what shoppers thought about each pair. After comparing this data, we narrowed our list down to the top 6 best outdoor basketball shoes on the market. You can count on this research to guide you to a mindful purchasing decision.

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